Cleveland Institute of Music announces new chair of violin department

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The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) in Cleveland, Ohio, US, has announced the appointment of violinist Jessica Lee as the new full-time chair of its violin department, beginning in autumn. She will also participate in the chamber music programme and special initiatives beyond the academic calendar.

‘Lee is not only a great violinist and musician, but also a very gifted teacher and wonderful colleague and friend,’ said Philip Setzer, the artistic director of CIM’s string and piano chamber music programme and a founding member of the Emerson Quartet. ‘We are all so fortunate to have her now full-time at CIM.’

Lee began learning the violin at the age of three and has studied with violinists including Weigang Li of the Shanghai Quartet, with Ida Kavafian and Robert Mann at the Curtis Institute of Music, and completed her master’s degree with Mann at the Juilliard School. In 2005, she was the grand prize winner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition.

Lee has performed as a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Johannes String Quartet, and has been a guest with many orchestras and festivals in the US and abroad. She has taught at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, was the adjunct professor of violin at the Vassar College in New York for five years, and has taught at CIM since 2016, initially as a visiting member of the violin and chamber music faculty.

To take on this new opportunity, Lee will be leaving her role as the assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, a position she has held since 2016.

‘After years of teaching while playing in the great Cleveland Orchestra, I am so excited to devote myself full-time to the students I love and admire,’ said Lee. ‘Alongside my wonderful colleagues, I will work tirelessly to provide the greatest music education and support for our passionate young musicians for many years to come.’

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